Using social media to grow the salads category is an exciting opportunity for companies provided they also understand the challenges that is poses.
That’s the message that Rijk Zwaan marketing and business development manager Jan Doldersum is going to give to delegates at European Vegetable Strategies 2014, the new international conference event for the European fresh vegetable sector that takes place in Brussels at the start of next month.
Rijk Zwaan, a family-owned business that is one of the world’s leading seed companies, launched its Love My Salad website in Europe a couple of years ago, and opened a “social salad network” in China last year too. The website, which is available in 13 languages at lovemysalad.com, has attracted millions of hits and many thousands of likes from users all over the world. It gives users the chance to inform themselves about salads and to share recipe ideas and much more.
“Social media is a great way to communicate with consumers,” says Jan Doldersum. “But social media requires constant attention, and you’ve got to be very careful about things like internet security. It’s a big challenge.”
Rijk Zwaan is presenting its ideas in keynote sessions at European Vegetable Strategies 2014 at the Hotel Bloom in Brussels on Thursday 5 June. The event opens the previous evening with an informal get-together at Brussels’ renowned art nouveau brasserie De Ultieme Halluncinatie.
Rijk Zwaan is a key sponsor of European Vegetable Strategies 2014, which is organised by Europe’s leading fresh produce trade magazines, Eurofruit, Fruchthandel Magazin, and Fresh Produce Journal.
Some 120-150 senior managers from fresh produce businesses in Europe are due to attend EVS2014 on 4-5 June 2014. More information is available online at http://www.vegetablecongress.com/
